Bicycle-holder



(No Model.)

G. T. MGINTOSH.

i BIGYGLB HOLDER'. l No,'597,507. Patented' Jan. 18, 1898.

UNITED STATES PATENT einen@ GEORGE T. MCINTOSH, OF CLEVELAND, OlllO.

BICYCLE-HOLDER. I

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 597,507, dated January 18, 1898. Application nea February 9,1m. sein No. 622,629.1 en man.)

- a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga' and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Bicycle-Holders; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the saine.

My invention is fora bicycle-holderadapted to be secured to a wall or post and hold the bicycle in an upright position and furnish means forlocking it to said wall or post. Its object is to supply such a holder which shall be very simple and economical in construction and at the saine time efficient in service-a holder which likewise may be easily applied, which willv stand the effects of the weather, and is therefore suitable for outside use.

It consists of a pair of approximately parallel and vertical spring-jaws, which in the best construction are formed by suitably bend' ing a single piece of spring-wire, and a gate pivote-d to one of said jaws and having portions projecting therefrom at substantially right angles to each other, so that the entrance of a wheel between the jaws closes the gate behind it, the elasticity of the jaws causing them to clasp the interposed wheel and maintain it in vertical position, while the withdrawal of the wheel leaves the gate open for the next insertion. The particular oonstruction which l have hereinafter described as accomplishing these objects is also my invention, though some of the objects of the invention could be attained by other constructions not deemed so desirable, and I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the specilic construction or operation further than the claims indicate.

The drawings show my invention embodied in an approved form.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my invention and Fig. 2 is a plan with the holdingplate removed.

A. represents a frame forming a pair of spring-jaws and made of a single rod or piece of wire and bent into the form shown. This form is U-shaped in plan and rectangular in elevation, and thus presents two substan- 'backportions d2 and d3 of the frame A and held in place by the screws e.

vPivoted to the rod d, forming the front of. one'of the jaws, is the gate D. This gate is capable of a movement of su bstantially ninety degrees about its pivot and is formed of two portions extending from the pivot in directions substantially at right angles to each other. I accomplish this by making the gate of a single piece of wire doubled back toward itself, so as to forma U roughly speaking, and twisting each arm of the U about midway of its length around the rod d, as shown at cl, and leaving the ends d' of the wire projecting at substantially rightangles to the intermediate portion d2. l prefer to give a twist to the intermediate portion cl2 and thereby form the loop d3, which braces the gate. The portion cl2 ot' the wire is of such length that the loop d3 comes over the front of the rod d' when the gate is closed. The gate may be thus conveniently locked by a padlock, having its bow pass through the loop and around the rod d. Such padlock is shown in dotted lines at E. The ends CZ of the gate are of such length that when the gate is opened they impinge against the back of the rod d and prevent further movement of the gate. A bend d5 is formed in the rod d, above and below which are `the twists d. This bend effectively prevents the gate from shifting its pivotfalong the rod a.

It will be noticed that the two jaws forming the frame A approach each other somewhat near the front of the holder, wherebythese jaws are caused to Abear with more or less tightness against the sides of the wheel-tire and thus hold the wheel in the desirable upright position.

In operation, the gate being open, the bicycle-wheel is run into the holder and, striking the ends d' of the gate, closes the same behind it.

loo y The gate is then padlocked, if deA sired, but the spring of the jaws operates to hold the wheel in position even if the gate is left unlocked. The padlock being removed, the wheel may be withdrawn. The withdrawal opens the gate and leaves it in position for the next entrance of a bicycle-wheel.

Having thus described my invention, I claiml. In a bicycle, two approximately parallel jaws, in combination with a gate pivoted to one of said jaws and having two parts extending from its pivot at substantially right angles to each other, said parts being longer than the distance apart of said jaws, the jaw to which said gate is not pivoted having a front rod with an opening behind it, whereby one arm of the gate is adapted to impinge against the back of said rod when the gate is opened and the other arm against the front of said rod when the gate is closed, substantially as described.

2. In a bicycle-holder, two approximately parallel and vertical jaws presenting two front rods back of which are open spaces, in combination with a gate having two parts extending at substantially right angles to each other, a distance greater than the distance 'apart of said two rods` and pivoted at the junction of said two parts to one of said rods, whereby said gate may be swung through substantially ninety degrees, and its movement is limited in the closing direction by one of said parts impinging against the front of the other of said rods, and in the opening direction by the other part impingng against the back of said last-mentioned rod, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. In a bicycle-holder, a U- shaped open frame presenting a pair of substantially parallel rods and means for securing the frame in position, in combination with a gate formed of a wire or rod twisted about one of said parallel rods and thereby pivoted thereto, and having two portions at substantially right angles to each other extending from its pivot a distance at least as great as the distance apart of said pair of substantially parallel rods, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

4. In a bicycle-holder, the frame A having the rods a and a', there being formed on the rod a the bend co5, in combination with the gate D formed of a single wire twisted about the rod a above and below the said bend, and having the ends 'd' and the intermediate portion d2 extending from said rod aI a distance at least as great as the distance apart of said rods a' and a', said ends and intermediate portionl being at substantially right angles to each other, substantially asrand for the purpose specified.

5. In a bicycle-holder, the frame A having the rods a and d', and means for securing the frame in position, in combination with the gate D formed of a single wire bent back toward itself in an approximately U form and having each arm of the U twisted about the rod a, whereby the gate is pivoted thereto, the intermediate portion cl2 of said U being twisted to form the loop d3, and the free ends d' extending from the twist about the rod a at substantially right angles to the portion cl2, and means for preventing said gate from shifting along the rod d, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I afx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE` T. MoINTOSI-I.

Witnesses:

E. L. THURsToN, ALBERT H. BATES. 

